Question

What is the nature and significance of political theory

Answer 1

Answer:

Systematic reflection on politics, the nature and purpose of government and political institutions,

involving both to understand them and if necessary, how to change them, is quite old. Political

activity is an activity concerned with the management of man’s collective life through the state.

From classical period onwards, political speculation has been about: how fundamental political

activity is; how it provides the groundwork for human civilization which distinguishes man from

all other living creatures; and to inquire into the basic problem of ‘how to live together’ in a

community because living together is necessitated by human nature and forms the core of

individual life.

Political theory seeks to understand, explain and analyse the political phenomena and prescribe

ways and means to rectify the shortcomings. Political theory is a complex subject. This is

because in the Western tradition, it is at least 2300 years old and has been attended to by

philosophers, theologians, kings, economists, sociologists, popes and others. The number of

political theorists is very large, and the interests and commitments of those engaged in this field

have been so different that we are faced with the difficult task of answering a simple question:

What is political theory? Moreover, because of the diversity and changes in the socio-economic

circumstances, there have been substantial changes both in the subject matter of political theory

and the methods of studying it.